Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. Geshe Kyab explores the Buddhist teaching on patience through Śāntideva’s classic commentary, drawing on verses 45-50 from the text. He begins by establishing that when others harm us, blame belongs not to the person but to their afflictions, our own contaminated body, and ultimately our past karma. He walks through the ten non-virtuous actions, explaining how each—killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, idle gossip, covetousness, harmful intent, and wrong views—accumulates karma with varying severity depending on circumstances. The core shift comes through understanding that an enemy is actually our best teacher, offering an invaluable opportunity to practice patience, tolerance, and forgiveness. Rather than harming us, those who hurt us benefit our practice and cleanse our negative karma. Geshe Kyab illustrates this with vivid detail: the forest of razor-sharp leaves in the lower realms, arising from past actions; the universal kindness of sentient beings (all having been our mothers); and examples from his own life and modern experience. Pitched at practitioners with some Buddhist background who need practical grounding in karma and the antidote of patience.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 2017 04 06.mp3
UUID: 41853131-46fa-442c-a455-5d902ad838bf
Teacher: Geshe Kyab
Collection: Thursday Patience (Geshe Kyab)
Date: 2017-04-06
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 108.4 minutes
Words: ~9,406
Everyone, page thirty four. I go for refuge until I am enlightened to the Buddha and the Dharma, Supreme Assembly, with the practice of giving, of Dharma perfections, may I become a Buddha to benefit all sentient beings. May all sentient beings have happiness, causes of happiness. May all sentient beings be free from suffering and causes of suffering. May all sentient beings, inseparable from happiness that is free from suffering.
May all sentient beings abide in equanimity, free from attachment for friends, hatred for the enemies. Grievously, I prostrate with my body, speech, and mind. I present clouds of offerings. I declare all my negative actions accumulated since beginningless time. Rejoice in the merit of holy and ordinary beings. Please remain until the end of cyclic existence.
Turn the wheel of Dharma, my guardians of beings. I dedicate all my merits and all of those things. Page ninety seven. Short mandala offering. Mantra, please.
Thank you. Foreword. Last week, we discussed about when somebody harms you, one example Śāntideva was giving us, when somebody harms you regularly, we really, of course, it’s very understandable. We get angry and we get upset, so we reply back to them. So we just regularly, we are as childish people, we do such a thing like that.
But then Śāntideva was saying, when somebody harms you, really, actually, if you really want to get angry directly, then it’s his or her that, let’s say somebody hit you by a stick, or some kind of wood, or any sort of weapons. So if you really want to get upset and angry directly, then you’re supposed to get angry towards that weapon, you know, not the person. But if you really want to get angry indirectly, then the person’s emotion, his or her emotion, or the anger, is not really the person. So if you really check it carefully, it makes a lot of sense. But then Śāntideva was saying, Why are you cutting out those two things than just focusing and concentrating on that person is the evil person.
He harms me, this and that. Why do you do that? You know, actually, really, directly you’ve got this problem pain and suffering because his weapon really caused you pain and pain on your body directly, but indirectly his anger or emotion, not himself, because the person is totally preoccupied by anger and emotion, so that’s why he harms you, he was hitting you. Other than that, there’s really no reason to be getting angry towards the person, him or her, you know, which makes a lot of sense. But regularly, we don’t meditate.
We don’t analyze all these things. We just even though Buddhist practitioners, as we are as a Buddhist practitioner, we don’t analyze it. Although all these analyses are out there, but we don’t take things seriously. Only we are just trying to make things an easier one. Only easy things we try to do.
But if you really concentrate and meditate, this makes a lot of sense. Not only just that, also when somebody harms you by a weapon, not only his weapon or himself, also your own body, too, because your own body, too, because your body is also part of the problem. Because your body is the contaminated aggregates, especially this is the form body. Because this body is the contaminated body and the mind is no more than contaminated aggregates, so this is the samsaric body. Because of the samsaric body, little things happen.
We feel pain and suffering. See? Faults are not only just the other side. We do have problems and faults because this body is not yet free from pain and suffering because it’s not free from contaminated five aggregates. Once you transform your body and your mind, you know, the uncontaminated five aggregates, then it doesn’t matter how much people try to hit you or try to make you pain and suffering, you wouldn’t because your body is not contaminated.
If you look at that perspective, it also makes a lot of sense. But then we don’t. We don’t look at it that way. We’re just directly, really pinpointing that evil being, that evil human being. He did it.
He harmed me. He harmed me physically. He harmed me mentally. And he harmed me verbally. That’s a very easy way, you know, very easy.
That’s only you can see in front of your eyes. But then, Śāntideva was very much teaching us, really, the meaning of these contaminated five aggregates, really. Then, of course, his or her emotions or anger, but that person is also totally preoccupied by his or her emotions or anger, but then there’s no control. There’s no control for him. So because of that, then everything really becomes very sad, and then things really fall apart.
But then, not only just that, also the Śāntideva was expanding more pain and suffering. Now, if you look at the textbook, page thirty five and verse forty five. I’m talking about this textbook, not a book. This textbook, Okay? You have this one?
Okay, this verse is here in the childish me. I don’t wish to suffer, and yet I am obsessed with the cause of my suffering since it’s my own fault that I get hurt. Why have a grudge towards anyone else? Down there is an example. Before, this one is the Excuse me.
So this translation. We who are like senseless, senseless children shrink from suffering but love its causes. We hurt ourselves. Our pain is self inflicted. Why should others be the object of our anger?
But here we need to talk about karma. You know, in Buddhism, everything is your own good or bad. Everything happens to be past negative karma as well as positive karma. Past negative karma gives us a result of pain and suffering. Past positive karma gives us happiness and peace.
Okay. A little itchy. When you get older, you get more allergy. That’s another way your body is falling apart. Your body is teaching you, now you are getting old.
So be careful. Take care of yourself. That’s what’s happening here. The point is, one is particularly because we are childish, and this book was saying, like, you know, senseless children mean the senseless children do things that are senseless. But here is the example Śāntideva was giving us as we are senseless children because we ignore things that they’re supposed to be adopting, supposed to be taking care of those activities, but then we ignore them.
It doesn’t matter if you are a Buddhist practitioner or if you are a non-Buddhist practitioner or if you do know about the karma or if you do not know about the karma, but every one of us, we ignore some of the actions, which here are the ten non virtuous actions. Because of that, then we are accumulating ten non virtues because we are accumulating negative karma, you know, because of the actions of the ten non virtues in the past lifetime, but in this lifetime, now our karma is really giving us pain and suffering. Intellectually, we all do understand, especially Buddhist practitioners. People who come to Buddhist centers hear these things often. Sometimes they don’t want to hear it because they heard it.
The karmic law of cause and effect, karmic causality things they heard many times before. But what is worth it? You heard it many times before. What is worth it? Because you couldn’t practice, isn’t it?
Why you couldn’t practice? I shouldn’t say, I would like to say, We. I’m also included. Why do we couldn’t practice? We all are senseless children.
We ignore. We’re supposed to be taking care of all those actions, not taking those non virtuous actions. But we ignore the ten non virtuous actions, even though we have a certain understanding of the karmic law of cause and effect. We ignore that. Why?
Because we are childish Buddhists. Childish Buddhists. That’s exactly it. Because of that, in this lifetime, we are having so many problems, and we are having so many issues, so many things that fall apart in our lives. Okay, let’s say now you understood.
All this comes from my previous lifetime karma. Now I must be stopped this karma not to accumulate it. If I do, then next time, you know, this will happen again. The same thing happens again, you know. But even though we have this certain understanding, still we cannot really control our emotions.
We cannot control our anger, desire, attachment, jealousy. You just name it all other mental afflictions. We couldn’t. Why? Because we are really not thinking seriously.
We are not thinking seriously means we are really not practicing, you know? So I think this is the opportunity. This lifetime, we all have obtained such a precious human life. Not only that one, as I mentioned before, also it is a great opportunity. We are also fully in doubt human beings, so we are free from all other difficulties and pain and suffering that lower realm beings are feeling.
This is the opportunity. If you really think that seriously, at least we can control some of the non virtuous actions. I think it really gets better. Immediately, controlling ten non-virtuous actions. You can come.
Oh, he has wheelchair? Oh, of course. Of course, let him come. If he needs a wheelchair, Go help, Christina. Maybe go and help.
Okay, now, where? Maybe come here, over there. More Okay? Okay, that’s good. Perfect.
Coming? You need to be with him or you must be there. Okay, go ahead. Sit down. Can you be able to sit on the cushion?
Otherwise, bring one chair. Okay. Good. Excuse me. It’s okay.
Okay, so I was saying is sometimes we ignore things that are supposed to be, for instance, the ten non virtuous actions that are mostly really ten non virtuous actions. Bodily actions, bodily non virtuous actions, verbally non virtuous actions, mentally non virtuous actions, altogether ten non virtuous actions. So these are the, once you understand all the results that we are now experiencing, mostly those pain and suffering comes from the past lifetime accumulated negative karma, which is the ten non virtuous actions. Once you have this sense of understanding, then now, this lifetime, if you are really smart, then now we need to stop it, isn’t it? Because we have this sense of understanding, so now we need to stop it.
If you don’t stop it, this will be the cycle again in the next lifetime. Not just cycling again means it will come back to you, but you may also cause other people to reborn in the lower realms. That means we have a big responsibility, you know? This is the one thing that goes around like that. Especially if you really check the Wheel of Sharp Weapons from Dharmarakshita, that’s wonderful that Lama really taught us each of the negative karma gives rise to certain pain and suffering, different, different, you know, pain and different results like that.
He put down many of those individual causes and it’s a result, something like that. In this, Okay, why is lacking for us? Why are ignoring everything? Why are we ignoring? What is lacking?
I think faith, the main thing is that faith is lacking here, not knowledge. Most people, especially when come to a Buddhist center, they hear these things all the time. But the problem is faith. Not having faith in karmic law of cause and effect, and not trusting what the Buddha was saying. That’s the second thing.
Faith and belief. We are not talking about just belief like a blind belief. We are here talking about the belief or faith or trust after understanding. That is the point. Especially if someone is a Buddhist, of course, you must be a belief, you must have faith, must trust what Buddhah was saying, because you are a Buddhist.
That means your refuge is Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. These are your protectors. But let’s say if you are not Buddhist yet, still, if you really want to practice, you need faith in the karmic law of cause and effect, not really the Buddha himself. Least, if you want it, that’s Even though if you are a non-Buddhist, still if you want to practice the karmic law of cause and effect, if you do have a certain understanding of all these things falling apart because of my previous karma. So now, if you also do have the teachings of Wheel of Sharp Weapons, which is beautifully Dharmarakshita, taught us.
Then, I think, still, it’s not enough just having knowledge. You need to build, need to create some faith on karma. Negative karma raises the result of negative, which is the pain and suffering. Positive karma will give you the result happiness and peace. That’s very important to understand.
Then one day we can stop the ten non virtuous actions. Otherwise, this goes continually in one life to the next life, then the next life, then it cycles. Okay? That’s exactly this one is really the, how do you say, this particular verse, forty five, something like this. Śāntideva was also giving, for example, the guards of the joyless realms.
I think this one is talking about the lower realms, realm. And then the forest of razor sharp leaves. This suffering, too, is produced by my impulsive karmic behavior. Who indeed should I be angry with? This one is the example, and this translation.
Who indeed should I be angry with? Question mark. This pain is all my own doing. Likewise all the guardians of hell and all the groups of resolute trees. Now, say whether the hell realm exists or not exists, but many Buddhist books do give you you know, there is a kind of joyless realm. So here is the one particular joyless realm that this one is saying, can be able to, born there, we can be able to reincarnate there, then so much.
They do have some, you know, joyless realms do have guards. They will like those policemen in the prison jail. They have their own guards and guards will be going to really make us joyless. Also, our pain and suffering is going to be the forest of razor sharp leaves. So this suffering produced my impulsive karmic behavior, even though if someone is born in the joyless realm, then he or she was feeling suffering too much, especially this particular suffering from the forest of razor sharp leaves, which we call here.
Because of the people born there, and they suffered a lot in this particular forest, razor sharp leaves, they suffer there because there no one to blame. They are the ones who accumulated negative karma in their past lifetime, that’s why now they are in that joyless realm. There’s no one to blame. You cannot blame those joyless realms’ guards. You cannot blame any other beings, because only to blame is their own fault that the negative karma that we accumulated.
So that’s an example Śāntideva was giving you here. You may wonder what exactly this forest of razor sharp leaves, which is the Ral gri lo ma nags tshal. This is the one type of joyless realm. It says once you’re born there, it’s a forest. You can see this particular tree look like a beautiful tree, huge tree, so many branches.
You feel very desire to climb on the tree. That’s how you will feel it. On top of the tree, you can see some of your loved ones, some of your dear ones calling you, Hey, come here. Come up to the tree, you know, like that. Then you feel like a good way to meet them because those people are your dear ones.
It could be your mother, father, aunt, or your loved ones just calling you, Come on, climb the tree. The tree is a so desirable tree. You feel very wonderful there first. Once you’ve climbed the tree, all these beautiful leaves and branches eventually change. Becomes razor sharp leaves like that.
Then all these razor sharp leaves become blades. Then it will turn down. You are climbing up. Now you have no choice but to climb up because a dear one is calling you. When you do that, all these sharp blades cut your body, inside and outside, everything.
Once you get there, nothing else is left. Everything is here and there. But then you cannot die. Only you feel so much pain and suffering. Then at some point, you try to go down, you know, because once you reach there, you cannot see your friends and family, dear ones.
No one can see. Everything disappears. Then you can only see there is a big, big bird with very sharp what do you call that? Do you call that? B.
Yeah. That book says they will really eat your brain because that’s only left now. Then at some point, the sound from the sky becomes totally the same. You die, and then you come back again. But then you feel everything is okay.
It’s the same thing, almost like you just wake up, but you went through so much pain and suffering. Now your friends and family are based on the tree. They are calling you, Come down, you know. We are here. But you have no choice.
You need to come down from the tree. Then the same thing happens again. All these blades the leaves turn up, then you are coming down. Again, of this, your body will be cut out. So this is up and down, up and down.
You will be like that for thousands of years. So that’s exactly the Ral gri lo ma nags tshal, this particular forest of razor sharp leaves, you know. So that’s why the Śāntideva, in chapter number ten, which is the dedication. Dedication says there are many, many dedications. One verse of dedication mentioned, forests where the leaves are blades and swords become sweet groves and pleasant woodland glades, and may the tree of miracles appear, supplanting those on the hill of Shalmali.
And may the very pits of hell be sweet with fragrant pools and perfumed with the scent of lotuses. Be lovely with calls of swan and goose and waterfalls placing to the ear. The point is this one is dedication and prayer saying, May forests where the leaves are blades and swords become sweet groves and pleasant woodland glades. So this is the prayer that the Śāntideva dedication prayer in chapter number ten. So see, in Buddhist books, you can see often a shamalai tree.
It’s similar to that. So the point is, what can we do if you’re born there and you will continually feel pain and suffering? It’s unbearable pain and suffering, not only just one time, again and again and again. So that’s the example I’m giving you, because this happened on previous karma. Whom to blame?
No one to blame? So this is the example I’m giving you. See, these are not the Śāntideva who tries to scare us or make us fearful, but these are, I think, Śāntideva who teaches us to really understand this negative karma or non virtuous actions. It sounds like it’s not that much of big deal, but it is a big deal in Buddhist perspective. I will repeat that.
I did this before. Killing, bodily killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, bodily non virtuous actions. Then verbally lying, divisive speech, which is the slander, then the harsh speech, then idle gossip. These are the non virtuous actions of speech. Then the mentally covetousness, harmful intentions and wrong views.
These are the mentally non virtuous actions. If you really look at these ten non virtuous actions on a daily basis, we are very, very much vulnerable. When I say killing, we are not talking about killing only human beings. Of course, killing human beings is the huge negative karma. Of course, also the killing of animals, even the small creatures, like ants and insects, is also killing.
Different karma, killing a human being is the huge, huge karma, and killing ants and insects. Also, you accumulate karma, not the same as a human being. Why? Because the human is a high status being than the animal. Animals are the lower realms.
human being is the higher realm. Because of that, killing a human being is more heavier than killing animals. It doesn’t mean that killing an animal is Okay. Absolutely not. What I’m saying is that one is a much heavier karma, another is less, you know, heavier karma.
That’s what I was saying. But within animals, killing cows and elephants is like a bigger animal accumulating bigger karma than the small animals. Why? Because cows and elephants and these big, big fish, those big fish in the oceans, when you kill them, they suffer much, much higher than the small animals. Bigger animals suffer a lot, like cows.
As I said before, I watched this DVD a long time ago. Since then, I stopped eating cow’s meat. You know, this place where people slaughter cows. And these cows have no idea whatsoever. One moment they are just there eating grass and licking each other’s body, but the next moment all these cows are just in a queue now, one after another, you know, and they put inside this iron of gate, and their necks are just like this, in a ring and they’re tight.
Then the cow cannot go reverse or forward, just sitting there. Still, just there. They have no idea what would be next. Then they put something here, a stone gun here. Once they hit the gun here, they open up the gate and the cow is just, you know, it’s unbelievable.
They just fall down. Then it’s very difficult to die, shaking their bodies like this. Before the dies, the is on top of the dead, do you say? On hook. They’re already cutting a cow’s body.
It’s unbelievable. Still, their hands are moving. Can you believe such suffering and pain? How can we eat? Isn’t it difficult?
That’s why bigger animals suffer more than small animals. So that’s why killing also. If you kill bigger animals, more heavier karma than killing small animals. So that’s called killing. Stealing is when you steal something that does belong to you.
It could be taking property from friends and family, or it could be from organizations, from governments, or temples. Also, stealing has a different difference. Some stealing has less negative karma than others stealing, especially stealing from organizations, big temples and monasteries, negative karma because those objects and properties don’t belong to one person. It belongs to many, many people. For instance, in a monastery, we have a thousand monks.
If you steal one dollar, you will steal thousands of dollars because that one dollar belongs to two, three, four thousand monks. It’s very simple to steal one dollar, just one dollar, but actually, that’s really the equivalent of four thousand dollars and three thousand dollars. But if you steal one dollar from one person, it’s still negative karma, but just from one person. It’s a less negative karma than stealing from the monastery or organizations, temples, or churches. That’s why stealing can be a different karma when you steal something.
Then the sexual misconduct is the adultery, you know, something that not belongs to you, something that is not your wife or husband or partner. If you sleep with them, that is called stealing, I mean sexual misconduct. Then there are also many other sexual misconduct, too, not only just the adultery, even though Buddhist perspective is that even though if you sleep with your own wife and husband, suddenly in Buddha’s holy time, the holy days, you know. Buddhists, we have many, many holy days, also the sexual misconduct. So if you are sleeping with your wife or husband, in front of the altar also.
So that’s one thing that I tell all the time my students, because many times students do have an altar in their bedroom. So this is the point that we all the time separate our altar, different rooms. Altar is totally the clean area, not the bedroom, because in the bedroom, we sleep and we do many strange things, isn’t it? You may think it is normal. Maybe it’s normal in the West, but in Buddhist point of view, it’s not.
Even though that person is your husband or wife, still whatever you do, it is normal, but you do these things in front of the altar. I think this is good to hear again and again. Many times I saw people build an altar in their bedroom. But then there is one thing you can do. Let’s say sometimes we have no space.
What can we do? I saw some of the Tibetan families. What they do is they put cotton. Let’s say their bed is there, the altar is here. Now, they have no other rooms.
Only now they have a kitchen, but only the altar must be in their bedroom now. So what they do altar is here, their bed is in between there, and they put cotton. Before they go to sleep, whatever they do, they do, and close this cotton. At least there is some suppression, you know, it’s mental it’s little bit which is another idea if you like to do that. But if you’re alone, still, you know, it’s not so good having the altar in your room, I think, your bedroom.
Okay? So that’s what was that, sexual misconduct. Now lying verbally, false speaking, something that you say things but not truthfulness. False speaking is lying. But sometimes people are confused.
Am I lying? I’m saying nothing. You’re not lying. If you’re not saying something, then you are not lying. Speech.
Once you are saying something, then you are saying it, but that speaking is not truthful. It is false speaking, so that one is called lying. The divisive speech, people do because of the jealousy, it divides two people, good people, friends, couples. Or he said that sometimes these two wonderful couples separate. Somebody comes in the middle of these two wonderful couples because of their jealous mind.
This happens often. Then this wonderful couple or friend becomes totally separate. Also, between teacher and student, this happens. Also, I go a little bit higher, to monasteries, to organizations, these are the very, very schism-causing actions, isn’t it? That’s called schism, which is one of them.
If you do such thing, these two monasteries, I’m talking not like two people, two monasteries or two groups of the monks, if you do such a thing like that, this is one of the how do you say the karma, you know, which one we call it here. Somewhere here. One out of the five henous karma killing father, killing mother, so that is called one out of these five henous karma. That’s called. But sometimes there are different translations.
I try to check. One is in here, but I’m not finding it. Heinous. Yes, thank you. Thank you for correcting me.
Heinous, yes. Also, here in this book, English is so many different translations, you know. So If you look at the thirty five Buddhas Purification Practice, you can find that. Okay, now. Oh, here is the I have engaged in the five uninterrupted negative karma.
So this translation is like this, and sometimes heinous, how do you say heinous? Yes. Not the highness. Heinous. You need to sit down here to translate for me.
Yeah. Five, five uninterrupted negative karma. So, this one is the it’s a very, very heavy karma. I’m talking about the separating two huge monasteries or groups of monks, you know. That’s called schism of the Sangha.
It’s a very, very huge karma. Of course, then still, if you separate these wonderful couples, also, you know, they are so happy together. Sometimes, jealousy, and because of the jealousy, they are feeling jealousy, then they come between that and they separate. Also, it’s negative karma because they were happy, you know? This happens.
So the divisive speech or the slander is something like this. Then the harsh speech is another verbally negative karma. You speak, but you speak in a very nasty way. That’s called harsh speech. Then, the idle gossip is still you are chatting around, unreasonably chatting.
Not so bad as other non virtuous actions, but still idle gossip sometimes will interrupt people’s meditations and good actions. So that’s why idle gossip also must be that’s why sometimes it’s not really important to say things, but better to stop. These are the verbally non virtuous actions. Now, mentally, covetousness is part of the attachment, desired attachment. You’re coveting something because of the desire, suffering of dissatisfaction.
When you see somebody wearing the nicest shoes, clothes, jewelry things, or necklace, driving the nicest car, or anything, you know, then you are coveting. You really want to have those objects. Probably, you don’t need it. Maybe you want it. Sometimes, it creates so much problem, and covetousness.
Harmful intentions, one of the worst non virtuous actions, to harm raising motivation to harm somebody else. Retaliation, revenge, it’s so bad. Oh, he harmed me. She harmed me. Now I will go to take revenge.
Until then, I will not eat, not going to sleep. Sometimes some people do engage like that. Such a motivation is called harmful motivation. The intention is one of the worst non virtuous actions, because once you have this harmful intention, you will take wrong actions. It’s very dangerous.
Dangerous. Then the last one is the wrong views. Wrong views, typical Buddhist perspective, view is there is no karma in its results. If I do take wrong actions, there wouldn’t be any negative results, or there wouldn’t be any positive results if I do take the right actions. If I do meditate on the four noble truths, there wouldn’t be any enlightenment or realizations.
It’s a wrong view, a typical Buddhist perspective. That’s not true. Buddha never lied. Buddha never said false. Buddha said very much.
The typical Buddhist perspective is wrong views. Then, if I add it, drinking alcohol is Okay. Taking those strict drugs and all these poisons, these are okay. Just enjoy their life. Only the organized religions, are just made up of all these things are bad.
Otherwise, this is the life we need to enjoy, you know? These of views are wrong views, because eventually, smoking things, marijuana. I don’t know nowadays marijuana is sometimes considered as a medicine. I don’t know. Yeah, maybe some degree of marijuana is.
If you really balance, maybe it may help you. The same as alcohol, wine. They are saying if you drink a little, little wine before you go to bed, or scientists were saying it will help your heart. I don’t know it is true. If you take those things in a medical perspective, maybe, you know.
Maybe, yes, then. But here we are talking about not the medical, just the regular one. So that’s called wrong views. These are the ten non virtuous actions. We must protect it.
We are very much vulnerable. Doesn’t matter who you are. We all are vulnerable, even the monks and nuns, Geshes, lamas, or the higher lamas, or the small lamas. Very much vulnerable. That’s why the vigilance is very important.
Every time, as I gave you this example before, even though when you are walking in the morning, if you walk or anytime when you walk outside, if you are a little vigilant, look at the footpath. If you see some creatures, don’t kill them. Small things you can do if you are aware of these things. See? Even though this is not a huge practice you are doing, but still you try to avoid killing those small creatures.
Why does this happen? Why are not killing them? Because you are vigilant. You try to be aware You try to be aware of this killing is negative. So now, when you are walking on the footpath, you are not killing those small animals.
Why? Why do we need to rush? Why do we need watch your two eyes on that footpath? Why? Why we do that?
See, we ignore these things. Then when you are in the middle of many people together, now you have to be careful. You may say things that are not true, even though it is true, but you don’t need to speak. Sometimes, some truthfulness also creates some problems. Everything depends on what circumstances and what situation.
That’s why you must be vigilant. If you are very vigilant, then you know when to speak what, what, when not to speak what. Otherwise, if you are like this, senseless children, then sometimes you could hurt many people. You may have no intention, but unintentionally, sometimes these things happen. That’s why the vigilance is very, very important.
Somebody is tired. Okay, now moving on. Okay, so this one is the forty seven. Insight by my own karmic behavior, those who hurt me come my way, and if by their actions, these limited beings should fall to the joyless realms, surely wasn’t it I who has ruined them? This is very top also.
We usually don’t think about including myself. It’s very true also. Incited by my own karmic behavior, those who hurt me come my way. And if by their actions, these limited beings should fall to joyless realms, surely wasn’t it I who has ruined them? See, somebody harms you.
You because you are the one who causes that harm. You are the one who causes that harm, but now that person is harming you because in past lifetimes, you harm them. It’s coming back to you. Now you are not only just causing harm from the person, but also you are causing that person to be born in the lower realms because of your actions in the past lifetime.. You caused that also, not directly, but indirectly.
In the first place, if you did not accumulate negative karma, my point is that one is in the past lifetime. If you accumulate negative karma in the past lifetime with a person, then in this lifetime, that person will not harm you. The problem was that you caused that in the past lifetime, so that’s why this is harming you. Because of that, not only you are feeling pain and suffering, also this person is feeling pain and suffering at the same time because of his harm towards you, and he will also be born in lower realms. If you look at that perspective, who was really the start?
We are in the past lifetime. You know, now, that’s called what comes around. It means that. See? That is the one thing we really must think about very, very carefully.
Next one is the two. Based on them, my negative karmic force is greatly cleansed because of my patience, but based on me, they fall to the joyless realm with long lasting pain. Since I am, in fact, causing harm to them and they are the ones who are benefiting me, why, on a reasonable mind, do you make it the reverse and get into rage? Open inquiry. Forty eight.
Okay. Now, this one is In dependence on them, my negative karmic force is greatly cleansed by patiently accepting the harm that they cause, but in dependence on me, they will fall into hellish pain for a very long time. So since I am causing harm to them and they are benefiting me, why on the unruly mind do you become angry in such a mistaken manner? I think this one is I think this is a little better. Main thing is that this one is talking about the opportunity, actually, really.
Know, opportunity to practice patience. If somebody does something for you, although you are not just having the opportunity to practice patience, at the same time, of course, that person has some opportunity to accumulate negative karma, then eventually he will go to the lower realms. But your side is that you are really the great chance to practice patience, tolerance and forgiveness. So then actually that person is not really harming you. The person is really benefiting you.
If you look at it that way, he was helping you, actually. He was benefiting you because you can be able to practice patience and tolerance and forgiveness. That’s why the best teacher is an enemy. Means that an enemy is the best, best one can be able to practice patience. So that’s now the particular two verses that meant to be like that.
It’s really true. If something is benefiting you, then why are you Why are angry? Why? It’s very foolish, isn’t it? If someone is benefiting you, you must be respected.
You must thanked. That’s what normal people need to do like that. But here, instead, thanking or the practicing patience and tolerance, we try to revenge. We try to reply back to them nastily. So that’s why they are now saying, This is the opportunity to practice patience and tolerance and forgiveness.
Do it. Actually, he was benefiting you. He wasn’t harming you. This is your good chance. Unfortunately, he or she was the one who really accumulated negative karma and eventually reborns in the lower realms.
That’s the number forty eight and forty nine. Something like this. Now, I will go one more verse because otherwise we cannot finish before Judy comes back. Are so many verses here. I will go one more.
A little bit of patience, Okay? Now, If I had the advantage of wishing to be patient, I wouldn’t be going to a joyless realm. Although I am safeguarding myself in this way, what happens to them in this matter? I think there can be two questions coming. The questions, and Śāntideva was also giving you two answers.
If I have the advantage of wishing to be patient, I won’t be going to a joyless realm. But that’s the first question that comes. But although I am safeguarding myself in this way, what happens to them in this matter? What is this one? If my mind has the noble quality of patience, I shall not go to hell.
But although I am protecting myself in this way, how will it be so for them? One more These ones I will check. Then I will bring you the actual one. Some translations are very clear, sometimes not so clear, you know. But I’m here in Tibetan, yes.
Fifty fifty Fifty here. And when you want to finish for I’m sorry. What I was looking for different. For if a patient’s quality of mind is mine, I shall avoid the pains of hell. Though indeed I myself, what are my foes?
what are fates in store for them? I think this one is better. Let’s say when somebody harms you, and you practice patience, wonderful. You took this great opportunity to practice patience, but also the same also that same person has some opportunity to really accumulate negative karma and eventually reborn in lower realms. But you wouldn’t be born in lower realms because of your practice.
But now the question I was asking is, am I causing that to be born in the lower realms? Am I also accumulating negative karma because I’m causing him to burn lower realms? And Śāntideva was saying, No, no, you are not causing that. How do you say? To reborn reborn in the lower realms.
The first one is saying, am I also accumulating negative karma because that person accumulated negative karma because of me, then he was falling to the lower realms. Am I also accumulating negative karma? Śāntideva was saying, No, you are not. The second one is because you are not. Why?
Because you are practicing patience, tolerance and forgiveness. He wasn’t. He wasn’t practicing patience, tolerance and forgiveness. That’s why he was falling down to the lower realms. You are not, because you are practicing patience, tolerance forgiveness.
The second question is this: Because of the me, Okay, because he harms me, and I am practicing patience and tolerance. I won’t be going to the joyless realm, but although I am safeguarding myself in this way, what happens to them in this matter? That perspective is that I am safeguard because I practice patience and tolerance and forgiveness, which is self guided because of of him. Actually, he benefited me to practice patience, intolerance and forgiveness.
Does that mean that person is also accumulating positive karma? So now, that’s the second one. Śāntideva was saying, No, he wasn’t accumulating any positive karma because of you. It is the positive karma of the mind that is practicing patience, tolerance and forgiveness. That one is the accumulated positive karma, not the other one.
See? But you are the one who is practicing thinking, Oh, he was benefiting me. But his side is actually really not benefiting you. Because of your you transform this adversity path to enlightenment. You are transforming this disadvantage as an advantage.
That’s why your way of thinking is unique because you are thinking, Oh, he was benefiting me. You are thinking. Your mental or mind is practicing. So that’s why it is you who are practicing patience, tolerance, and forgiveness, not that person. That person is enraged, harming you instead of helping you from his side.
He wasn’t thinking, Oh, I want to benefit you. That’s why I want to hit you. Nobody does that. Nobody does that. I want to benefit you.
Come here. I will beat you. Who is going do that? We are the ones who practice this, so then we are thinking, Oh, he was benefiting me. See?
This is our mind, not his mind. That’s number fifty, something like this. Thank you very much. Now, break. Questions?
‘s we’re going And point doing. You’re deriving benefit from the robes and the food and and whatnot. Does that constitute as kindness? Because it’s just related to your own Okay. I think you have a few things inside of your questions.
Hope I understand what you mean, but let’s see. Are generally, in Buddhist point of view, practice is done by ourselves. Whatever practice you do, it’s within us. You should not be practicing how people react to you. Do you understand what I’m saying?
This is what I wanted you to understand first. Practice in Buddhist point of view, practice is the individual, your own practice. Your own way of thinking needs to be changed. When you do practice, you should not be doing practice, or you cannot or should not or must not be practicing how people are thinking about you or how people react towards you. If someone reacts nicely, I will practice.
That’s wrong. If someone reacts badly, I won’t practice or I cannot practice. That’s another wrong. Because your practice is the now and then how people react. That means you are really not practicing.
Maybe I don’t mean you, I’m generally not. Maybe that person is not understanding what does mean practice. So that’s why practice doesn’t matter. Even if the world is ending, the sky is falling down, whatever it is, your practice is yourself. If you do practice, it doesn’t matter if people understand your practice or people feel that you are a kind human being or feeling like that or not like that.
When you practice patience, tolerance, forgiveness, you are the one who really accumulates positive karma. See? That karma is what nobody can steal from you. That’s exactly the practice of the individual. The individual needs to be practiced like that.
Not like something that I will practice if you react nicely towards me. Otherwise, I cannot practice. That’s not the way you should be practicing. Do you understand now what I’m saying? Yes.
So the second thing is that in Buddhism, all sentient beings, mother sentient beings. All sentient beings are like once a mother or father, whoever is very kind. So that means in Buddhism, that one is the very, very strong statement. The saying that every sentient being became our mother. Not just one time.
Many, many, many. You cannot count it. Even though one sentient being became our mother a million, million times. But then now, if you look at the, generally speaking, mother is mother. We know the mother, how kind she has been in our life.
First thing is she keeps you nine months. How difficult. Secondly, when you come out from the womb, how difficult. Not only just that, she raises you. Generally speaking, of course, are some people who do have a bad relationship with their mother, but mostly we all experience with the mother is very loving and kindness.
That’s what we experience with the mother. Another thing is that mother’s breastfeed is another thing. This is one great medicine. Not only just healing our body, this is the first thing. Mother feeds her breasts.
That’s between the mother and ourselves. A strong connection is there. She was holding you like this, and she was giving you her breastfeed. That’s huge. Also, it’s love, very strong love, totally unconditional love.
Fathers are difficult for that. The father cannot be afraid, you know? Of course, the father was also a mother, you know? I don’t want the father to get upset. The point is that if you look at it that way, every sentient being became our mother many, many, many times, but in this lifetime we have only one mother.
But we know how much cherishing our mother, and for my case, I respect my mother, especially I’m just talking about myself. Since my father passed away when I was a very young age, my mother was there for me all the time. She was giving so much protection. It doesn’t matter whatever she needed to be going through, but for me, was there, My son must have a good life. Because of her protection, her determination, I had never had difficulties in my childhood.
I was very protected. Not only just that, even though my grandfather was like that. Although I was away from my family since the age of six, know, until six I was with my family, mother, living with my mother. Then my mother sent me to the school. My school is very far from my village.
In the 1960s, I’m talking about it. There was no road that cars and jeeps can drive. Everything is a kacha road. It’s a bad road. Only the horse and the mules, those are the ones that go on that road.
It takes two days from my village to my school, So that’s why I cannot see my family often, only once a year, one time, because of the road and it’s also expensive to go down and up, beginning like that. So that’s why my grandfather was with me in one small flat. My mother rented it. I’m going to school. My grandfather is cooking me.
And we have now, the 1960s. In twenty ten or two nine, I went to that place to see Still, that house is there. It’s a wooden house. It’s in very poor condition, although around that area it was very much developed, but that house is there. I just went to see.
I was there, you know. Because of that, my grandfather was very protected. So much protection, you know. My mother was, my grandfather. Of course, one main thing here is my mother.
So that’s why when I got older, when I was in the monastery, I was at age six. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve schools. One school, then the next school, high school, primary school. High school, then I went further, more further than my village, almost two or three days, because that is called Kalimpong West Bengal. When I was at the age of I went to that one.
But there no grandfather. I was at my uncle’s house. So that school is now a little bit better school, you know, because I was learning well. Then of course, at the age of twelve, totally the monastery. See, my life is like that.
But in the monastery, of course, when I was reading, even though I was a very young age, mother sentient beings. In the beginning, I didn’t understand what that means. I asked again and again, you know, I asked my teacher, why this mother sentient. And he explained to me, mother sentient beings mean that. And I said, wow, not just my mother, you know?
And was saying, your mother was how kind for you, this mother. Same thing with all other sentient beings, past lifetimes. They became your mother. Did so much kindness to you, same as this lifetime mother. In the beginning of the age, they put everything in our brain.
That’s great, I think. Beginning just at the age of twelve, thirteen years old, it’s just a baby, isn’t it? At that point, they already stole all these things in our brain. My experience with my mother also, that’s perfect. Then I’m saying, Wow, mother is really a mother.
There is no human being as a mother. That’s what I felt. Is no other being like a mother. That’s in my mind something like this, you know. The point is that I will give you another, just that this is not part of your question.
When I was in the United States, I watched this movie, Heidi. You know Heidi? The movie is Heidi. The grandfather and little girl. That reminded me, I am not a girl, but my grandfather and myself.
That movie wasI crying. My grandfather passed away. That’s exactly what I went through in my childhood. My grandfather seemed like a high risk grandfather. He very strict but very loving, very much protected.
He said, Take me to school. Before school finished, my grandfather was down there just looking at a big, big mouth. Every person scared my grandfather. He looked at me. Long hair, long hair, you know.
A little bit how do you say? His face is not so even, a little bit more like, but here it is, Oh, it looks like a Buddha. Every person in that area respects my grandfather. Children, older children, when they try to beat me, my grandfather is scared. Next time, don’t touch kun chok, otherwise his grandfather may come there.
That much protection, you know? The point is, if you look at that perspective, all other sentient beings are really, really kind. But not only just that, if you look at everything that you eat, although they have no intention to help you, like let’s say those farmers. Just one example. I don’t think farmers, some maybe, I don’t know.
I cannot say. Don’t think regulators don’t have any intention to help you. They are doing their own job. That’s okay. But still, from your side, as a practitioner, if you think about it, without a farmer, you cannot eat vegetables.
If you look at it, they are so kind. It doesn’t matter how their motivation was. It doesn’t matter. But your own side is where you need to think about their kindness. Without farmers, you cannot eat vegetables, you cannot have nothing.
Because of the kindness of the farmer, you can just go and buy vegetables from the Coles and foodlines. Very easy, because of their kindness. If you look at that perspective, then I think our closeness starts. Closeness with others will start. Usually, we don’t look at that way.
I am buying. This is my dollar. I am buying it that way. How can you buy if there are no vegetables? How can you buy because there are no farmers.
I have said this before, even here. One day, I don’t know which year, was shopping in the Publix. In United States, they call it a supermarket, call it Publix. It’s huge. I think it’s four or five times bigger than the coals here in the Burnside.
The United States, everything is bigger, bigger, bigger. Oh, rounding and rounding. Sometimes I was thinking my knee wasn’t good. Maybe it’s good to have this kind of thing also, you know? It’s easy.
It’s tiring. Sometimes things are very difficult to find because that’s the system they built. Huge, huge, huge rounding, you know. The point is, I went to buy some vegetables, especially tomatoes. The tomato price went up almost seventy five cents went up.
I said, What happened? Last week was like this week. I asked this lady, she knows me because I shop there. She said, Hello monk, now you teach. I know she was reading Buddhist books, she wasn’t my student.
Buddhism usually teaches. That’s exactly happening now. I didn’t understand what you mean, because there’s no farmer. Because most of the farmers come from Mexico. Border problems.
They blocked them. They didn’t allow them to to work. Usually they walk at night and they go back. I think some farmers are sitting, they’re not going back. The point was that week something happened there.
The farmer couldn’t come in whatever it is. That’s why the tomato price went up. Just one simple example. This happens often. Maybe here, too, sometimes.
See? If you look at it that way, they are so kind and a very hard job. Farming is not easy. I have a small garden there. Sometimes it’s difficult.
I’m not a garden monk, you know? It’s difficult. You have to put water every time. I try to keep this garden fresh as much as I can. Sometimes it’s difficult because you need to do all these things.
But these farmers are there for so much hard work. Everything is on your side, not from their side. If you think about this way, I think this closeness with the other will develop. That’s very true. But usually, our way of thinking is only what you see, that’s how we talk.
You know, see? That’s how we talk. Don’t go beyond that, actually. We don’t check how important other people are. For instance, here in the Buddha house, for me, my happiness depends on my students.
When a student and listens to my teachings, I feel very happy. Oh, I’m doing something right. See? So we are interdependent, you know? And you came here because I’m giving these teachings.
You depend on me. I depend on you. Or both our happiness depends on each other also, see? If you look at it that way, that’s another way, if you want to practice. This is another way you can practice.
That means our happiness depends on each other. We need each other to survive. Our happiness is absolutely, especially nirvana, which totally depends on others. That’s called bodhicitta. Without others or kindness, we cannot achieve nirvana, which is the insurance of full enlightenment.
That is called permanent happiness, permanent peace, which is nirvana. See? So that means everything is your own mind. It doesn’t matter whether it is cold or it’s hot or it is people surrounding you, you are nasty, but you are the one who needs to be concentrated in practice and focused. That’s you need to do.
Otherwise, it’s difficult to practice. Okay? Good? Okay. I’m glad that.
Okay. That’s good. That means I understand your question, you know, because Australians do have different ways of asking. I’m finding now. Now I’m catching you.
American people do have different ways of asking questions. But here, I’m finding it a little bit different. In the beginning, I was confused. Now I am understanding, I think. Yes, that’s good.
I am learning, you know? We all are students. Page thirteen, please. Lot of Dharma teachings in accordance with various dispositions of those to be subdued. Make it clear in the light of your well spoken advice.
Such contemplation, essence of the Buddha’s teachings, for most holy Lama to you who are Supreme, O Lama, please. Thank you. Tomorrow.